Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 200: Chapter 170: Calculation

Under the grand promises made by Sun Shengnan, Xia Xiuyan ultimately succumbed. She had no other path to take, "I’m sorry, I misspoke before. I... I will firmly follow you." freewebnoveℓ.com

A moment later, Xia Xiuyan unconsciously glanced left and right, then suddenly lowered her voice with a secretive expression, "Ms. Shengnan, don’t worry, I know what to say to the police. I’ll never let out a word about that matter."

As soon as she said this, Sun Shengnan’s eyes twitched violently, "Shut up, what did I tell you? Not a single word about that matter is allowed to be mentioned!"

Seeing that Ms. Shengnan was truly enraged, Xia Xiuyan immediately wilted. She fully understood the importance of that matter; it was key to Teacher Wang’s death.

"Go back now. Staying here with me only unnecessarily arouses suspicion." Sun Shengnan waved her hand impatiently, dismissing Xia Xiuyan.

Once Xia Xiuyan’s footsteps had faded, Sun Shengnan turned and walked to the other side of the room, where there was a blue iron door.

She pushed open the door. The room inside was only half the size of a classroom with several old-fashioned desks arranged separately. From the teaching plans and exercise books piled up at the corners of the desks, it was not difficult to see it was a teacher’s office. Sun Shengnan continued walking inside, toward a corner on the right, where there was a weathered wooden door.

The door had a padlock on it, but oddly enough, a brass key was inserted into the keyhole. Sun Shengnan turned the key, and the wooden door opened with a creak.

Behind the wooden door was a small room of less than 10 square meters, with a yellowed light bulb overhead. Under the dim light, one could see piles of exercise books and textbooks, and a woman sat atop the pile, leaning against the wall.

"Sorry for the wait, don’t mind it." Sun Shengnan said to the woman before her without much of an apology in her voice.

"No problem, as long as you haven’t forgotten me, Ms. Shengnan." Pei Qiuyu patted the dust off her bottom and stood up, looking around, "Such a careful person you are, locking me up here to prevent me from eavesdropping... But..."

The next second, Pei Qiuyu suddenly laughed, "Judging by your expression, do you have an idea for my proposal?"

"Since you say Chu Xi is already mixing with Principal Wu and trying to exonerate that beast, it’s only natural for us to cooperate. Pei Qiuyu, I admire your courage. With Nie Hexiang gone, as long as you perform well, I can let you play the second female lead." Sun Shengnan was adept at making tempting promises, knowing full well what these fresh drama school graduates lacked the most.

They lacked roles, exposure—any opportunity that could make them famous. These were her best chips.

"By the way, I heard there was a ghost incident during your film shoot? You don’t have to be afraid, it’s all fake. It was a teacher named Xu Yu who was pretending. I have collected enough evidence, and she has even been secretly printing and distributing flyers to spread rumors. Once this is over, I’ll deal with her personally." Recently, rumors of haunting were rampant, and Sun Shengnan hoped to alleviate Pei Qiuyu’s apprehensions.

"No wonder..." Pei Qiuyu nodded thoughtfully.

"What are you planning to do?" Sun Shengnan asked.

"Today’s final scene is a chase, I’ve seen tonight’s weather forecast, there will be rain, which perfectly fits the scene of a nocturnal pursuit. I want to change the male lead."

"Change roles?" Sun Shengnan frowned, "To Lu Ji?"

"No, to Chu Xi!"

"But he’s the main male lead, he has already played the role of the beastly teacher, and the role this time is the principal, which doesn’t match."

"No matter. Just let him wear a mask. It’s already a rainy night, visibility is poor, and we’re filming in a mockumentary style. The audience won’t be able to clearly distinguish if they don’t look closely. Imagine, a rainy night on a deserted hill, being chased by a guy wearing a mask, the atmosphere will be absolutely intense!"

Sun Shengnan eyed Pei Qiuyu with suspicion, "What exactly are you planning to do?"

"I’ll help you take care of this annoying guy, as long as you’re willing to cooperate with me." Pei Qiuyu’s smile widened, with her mind made up, "Ms. Shengnan, I saw a suit in the new prop room of the crew, which you brought."

...

In the afternoon, everyone received a notification and gathered in the music classroom on the third floor. Director Ding stood on the podium with a megaphone, announcing the new filming plan.

"Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, due to some special reasons, our second scene has been canceled. Now please be quiet while I explain tonight’s filming schedule."

It seemed he was also scared by today’s events—Director Ding, who is usually quite brash, spoke with an unusually soft, almost feigned, gentleness today.

"Tonight we are shooting a rainy night chase scene. Chu Xi is playing the principal who becomes enraged after his plots are exposed, and the main female lead, Xia Xiuyan, is playing the brave female teacher who blew the whistle..."

"Huh?" Chu Xi was confused, "Director Ding! Isn’t this role for Song Yan? I’m the main male lead—the male teacher."

"I know, I know, but you perform well, and this scene is all about body language. After careful consideration, we decided to let you give it a try." Director Ding pressed his hands down, gesturing for Chu Xi to stay calm, "Don’t worry, it won’t be a problem. We’ve prepared a mask for you, remember to pick it up from the prop room later."

"And what about us?" Hearing that he would not be performing, Song Yan did not let out a sigh of relief—God knows what else was waiting for him.

"Don’t rush, you’ll have things to do too. You guys go find a classroom and shoot some behind-the-scenes footage for promotion." Director Ding arranged.

Scanning the crowd, Song Yan searched for a while but did not see Pei Qiuyu. She had been missing for a while, "Director Ding, where did Pei Qiuyu go?"